“While He is incarnate, God gloriously reveals Himself on Mount Tabor within the hearts of Peter, James, and John. When the body of the Lord is transfigured, the mortal eyes of these disciples see a radiance from the uncreated Light (Mt 17:1-9)…When the Lord is transfigured, He does not lay aside His humanity. Rather, He illumines His humanity with His divinity, and this they see. That transfiguration of human nature has important consequences, for now all men have the capacity to be illumined by the divine light. The Lord Jesus demonstrates the possibility that every person who acquires the grace of the Holy Spirit may become a participant in the divine radiance.” (OCPM 5/11/2017)
“…salvation is a process wherein the relationship of God and man is synergistic. Each person works out his or her salvation while God, quietly and firmly, works with us, encouraging, illumining, and filling us with His grace.” (OCPM 10/12/2015)
“As God permits and to the extent the will is sensitized, the mind is illumined and the heart is energized and made pure.” (Rev. Alciviadis C. Calivas, Th.D.)
“In the Judaeo-Christian tradition, the word “creation” has a broader meaning than “nature,” for it has to do with God’s loving plan in which every creature has its own value and significance. Nature is usually seen as a system which can be studied, understood and controlled, whereas creation can only be understood as a gift from the outstretched hand of the Father of all, and as a reality illuminated by the love which calls us together into universal communion.” (Pope Francis)
“I will return to the image of learning to ride a bicycle. There is a two-fold element in that process, analogous to purification and illumination. Falling off and getting back on are the essential elements of purification. Fear and any number of passions could prevent this process from taking place. Falling off is not failure. Not getting back on would be failure. Our moral failures are almost beside the point. Repentance, the refusal to abandon the life of grace in Christ, is the one thing necessary. Illumination comes in time and with it comes a greater awareness and understanding of our failings.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“Let the one who pursues the contemplative life approach his Creator to be enlightened in heart…Let him take time for holy meditations on the sacred Scriptures; let him, being divinely illuminated, delight in them.” (Father Julianus Pomerius)
“Literal instruction is when we learn the truths contained in the word by rote, and talk one after another of Divine things. But spiritual illumination is when these things are revealed to us by the Spirit of God.” (Thomas Manton)
“Within the writings of the Fathers, the life of salvation is described in three stages: purification, illumination and deification. These steps are not entirely sequential. Some measure of each of them is present in the whole of the Christian life (rightly lived). But their sequence abides: there is no deification without prior purification and illumination. Given the nature of our life in the world, it is almost always the case that purification forms the greater part of our struggle.” (Father Stephen Freeman)